The Good, The bad and The Ugly

Two weeks ago I would have gone as far as saying I was in the best shape to date and ready to roll. However, this past week i have been fighting with allergies and some lower back tightness that was making me question if i should race or not. The problem with allergies is you wake up feeling like death and often i would be awake half the night for the week leading into the race. I was so excited to start my season that Carley and I went to Galveston for Texas 70.3 and US Pro Championships and i was going to give it the ol' college try even if i had to carry tissue and nasal spray with me.

Starting off in the swim i felt good, i blasted myself off course(oops!) and took some others with me and then exited the water about 30-45seconds down where i needed to be, my back was starting to hurt but i figured it would be okay once i got on the bike. Looking back i lined up on the wrong side and should have positioned myself with the guys i knew would be out in the lead, plus i should have been paying more attention to the winds and the current.

It just gets uglier from here. I ripped off my speed suit taking my # belt with it, okay jog back into transition and get the number as everyone passes out onto the bike. I hop on my bike and land on one shoe as it flies off, okay more time being lost. I felt completely loopy, the sort of feeling you get when you have had to many antihistamines, ibprofuin and nasal spray and not enough coffee.

As i smashed myself up the road, i noticed that there was something wrong, i rode the first half the bike being passed left and right just to notice at the turn around that my wheel was rubbing ever so slightly making it very difficult. The last half of the bike i was clearly out of the race and i rode in with some back tightness, very stuffed up from my allergies and i headed home. The funny part is after a 5hour car ride i felt pretty good, oh well life goes on. My back is better today, however i will be having everything looked at just to double check. Rather than dwell on the situation i have decided to keep moving forward knowing that my fitness was there but my health was not.

I would like to thank everyone for there kind messages over the weekend. I will make sure the next time i start a race i am ready to go. Also a special thanks to Ron for loaning me his wheels. I learned a big lesson- Don't use a 1080 front wheel in hurricane winds! Thank you Colonels, KSWISS Canada, Powerbar, 7 Systems, SLS3, and all my other supporters. Congrats to everyone for finishing the race and battling the winds. Also a special mention to Lance who placed in his age group, William, Jarrod, Cody, Anthony, Brian, Alison. It was great to meet lots of new people! And last but not least thank you to Carley for having to spend 5 hours with me a in a car after a DNF:(.

Domestique Diaries- A Triathlete’s Christmas

What’s a triathlete’s equivalent to a kid on Christmas morning?..... Receiving PowerBar Sponsorship nutrition and clothing in the mail!! Or as Brent and I like to call it "Fuel Day", No joke, the anticipated week of it’s arrival I heard about it so many times that I was having PowerBar dreams!

Brent was named to the PowerBar Elite team this season and the minute he heard the news he was on the website placing his orders. Every night we studied the PowerBar website over dinner and Brent talked about it endlessly. He even knows all of the staff at the PowerBar headquarters because he has called them so many times! I can honestly say that I have now memorized the nutritional composition of every PowerBar product. I even find myself talking about it at work to co-workers!

The day the first load of product arrived at our doorstep was more exciting to Brent than Christmas morning. All plans that we had scheduled for that night automatically got pushed to the back burner, new focus was to study, and organize all his PowerBar product.

Below are some pictures of Brent and the PowerBar product

He studied the product for so long he even got tired, however continued to study the product in supine.

That night we even went Target to buy storage containers for all his product. He wanted everything organized and to have it’s own home. He looked at the expiration dates of all the products and organized two cupboards based on product use and expiration date; he used the containers for extra product and to be refilled upon use from the cupboards.

It’s been two weeks since Brent has been using the PowerBar product and we still talk about as much as we did while waiting for the product to arrive. Nutrition is a key factor in a triathlete’s success and Brent is elated to be using PowerBar products. Brent restocks the cupboards every second day from the storage bins. He wants the cupboards to be full at all times.

You know you’re living with a triathlete when:

-Your calendar contains a "Fuel Day"

-You store most of the contents of your cupboards on top of your fridge because your cupboards are filled with training/PowerBar products

-The only cupboards that are organized immaculately (all the way down to expiration date) in your house are the “training cupboards”

Merry Fuel Day,

Carley

Update and New Sponsors!

First off I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Time fly's by when your training alot and working alot. I am excited about two new sponsors i have for this year. The first one is 7Systems which Jasper Blake introduced me to back in Victoria. This stuff is amazing. Click on the the right logo on the side of blog to go to their site. I have been able to train myself into the ground on these vitamins and minerals and my immune system and body has stayed strong. I am also happy to announce i will be part of the Powerbar Elite Team for 2010-2011 season. I would like to thank Frank and everyone at Powerbar as i am very grateful to be part of this program.

Training has been rolling along lately with Lonestar 70.3 coming up in a few weeks. It will be my first race of the season so i am excited to shake off the rust and get back in the competitive mode. Training has been going great but it's so early in the year to really tell so i would rather wait till race day to evaluate where i am at for this time of year. It should be a big start in Galvaston as they have also made it US Pro 70.3 Championships. I hope everyone had a safe Easter weekend and good luck to everyone racing over the next few weeks.